Report: Cazorla advised to have Achilles surgery

It’s being reported that Santi Cazorla has been advised he need surgery to properly repair an Achilles problem that has plagued him for most of 2016.

The Spaniard picked up a knee injury in November 2015, but his comeback was delayed because of the Achilles inflammation.

He then aggravated the injury against Ludogorets in October and hasn’t played since. This afternoon, journalist Eduardo Fernandez-Abascal – who broke stories about Hector Bellerin and Lucas Perez – said in a series of Tweets that surgery is required.

“Been told that Santi Cazorla has been advised to undergo surgery to correct Achilles injury,” he said.

“The operation would keep Santi Cazorla on the sidelines until 2017 but will be good in the long-term.

“Cazorla visited a top European specialist earlier this week. Arsenal and the player are expected to make a final decision soon.”

After the Southampton game last night, Arsene Wenger was asked about the Spanish international’s fitness, and said, “Cazorla I don’t know, honestly. It’s just inflammation. It can go in two days, two weeks – I don’t know. He has no setback, the inflammation is just still here.

“At the moment, it’s stable.”

So, I guess we’ll have wait and see. It would be a real blow if he were to miss many more months due to surgery, particularly as we’re still trying to find an effective way to play without him.